X2's Ultra-Rigid Main Rotor Blades

The ultra-rigid main rotor blades of the X2 Technology Demonstrator prototype, which Sikorsky Aircraft unveiled at Heli-Expo 2008 in February, are a blend of Sikorsky proprietary airfoils and are manufactured by Eagle Aviation Technologies. They are double-ended close to the hub to reduce rotor-hub drag and address engineers' prediction that the retreating blade of the coaxial main rotor aircraft will see upwards of 80 percent of its flow reversed when the X2 is flying at 265 kt.